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FAO’s Investment Centre provides a wide range of investment support services to developing and transition countries. This second annual review shines a light on the work of the Investment Centre and its partners –the international financing institutions - carried out in 2018 to increase the volume and quality of investments in food security, nutrition, agriculture and rural development. During that year, the Centre supported investment-related policy studies and processes to increase policy dialogue and contributed to the design, technical assistance, supervision or evaluation of investment projects in 116 countries. It increasingly linked both its policy work with investment support to [...]

This document includes critical information on the policy design and implementation process. Its purpose is to describe the content of the standard, elements of the policy and the main questions arising from different sectors, during the process of drafting the law and legislative procedure, as well as during the policy design and implementation of the standard. Likewise, it aims to present the challenges and the factors that allowed progress in its implementation. The main audience for this paper will be decision-makers, parliamentarians, high-level officials from ministries, and civil society institutions.  Also available in Spanish.

The Government of Fiji has identified action on nutrition and on diet-related Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) as a policy priority. The population of Fiji is experiencing a triple burden of malnutrition, due to the rapid dietary transition of the past 5 decades. Consumption of healthy traditional foods such as fish and seafood, staple root crops, coconuts and wild plants has decreased, while consumption of cereals and refined sugar has increased dramatically.  A significant contributor to high salt, sugar and fat intakes are discretionary foods, such as confectionary, snacks and sweet beverages. These foods contribute an average of only 9 percent of daily [...]

Smoked fish is an important animal protein source in Ghana. However, the traditional method by which the commodity is produced leads to high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH, a food safety hazard) in the commodity. This predisposes consumers to potential health challenges linked to PAH exposure in food. The extent to which that is the case in Ghana was evaluated by screening smoked fish on informal markets in the country for the hazard. Since the FAO-Thiaroye fish processing technique (FTT) has been demonstrated to address the PAH problem, it was further evaluated against traditional kilns in that respect. Consumer [...]

Protein-energy malnutrition and micro-nutrient deficiencies are important public health issues in Sri Lanka. Fish play a crucial role in nutrition and thus, promoting fish in the diet is among the strategies to control protein-energy malnutrition and micro-nutrient deficiencies. Fish are a source of proteins and healthy fats and provide a unique source of essential nutrients, including long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, iodine, vitamin D and calcium. Furthermore, fish are ideal options for maintaining good health and weight management as they are low in cholesterol and thus recommended for patients with diabetes, coronary heart diseases and hypertension over other animal proteins.  Despite their [...]

Pulses are a sub group of legumes with extraordinary nutritional and environmental benefits. Pulses are rich in proteins, in comparison with other plant-based protein sources and hence, act as major protein sources for vegetarians and in regions where meat and dairy are not physically or economically accessible. Pulses have a greater genetic diversity than the other crops, with many varieties of pulses resistant to floods, drought and other extreme and marginal environmental conditions.   Considering the benefits of pulses, the Government of Sri Lanka has initiated several programmes to promote pulses to address micronutrient deficiencies, which are widespread, particularly among nutritionally vulnerable [...]

The publication is a policy brief jointly prepared by FAO, IFAD and Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) with the primary aim of raising awareness of the importance and potential of aquaculture development in Kenya for improving the country's food security and nutition status. The brief has been reviewed by a number of experts from the member country government, private sector, academic community, and international organizations (FAO and IFAD).  Key messages of the brief include: • Kenya’s food security and nutrition status has much room to improve. • Fish is a vital source of essential macro- and micronutrients that can play an [...]

Entrenched food insecurity and malnutrition is a major concern in Afghanistan. It can be explained by several factors, including limited availability, fragile accessibility and instability of food supplies, among others. Food security and nutrition(FSN) is therefore a high priority on the agenda of the Government of Afghanistan. However, capacity constraints in the field of planning and management of FSN policies, programmes and projects remained a challenge for the successful implementation of FSN interventions. Against this background, the project focused on strengthening national capacities in FSN programming and implementation, and in reviewing, analysing, coordinating, monitoring and evaluating the food security and [...]

Large numbers of people in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region suffer from hunger and malnutrition, with recent estimates indicating that 14.9 percent of the people in the region suffer from hunger or undernourishment. There is also a continued high incidence of malnutrition. In the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, new strategies are required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG2) of eliminating hunger and malnutrition by 2030. It was realized that a SAARC-level regional framework and plan of action would help to enhance and complement national-level efforts in this field. A new regional [...]

The Government of Nepal prioritized a package of Green Climate Fund (GCF) initiatives to address both immediate and longer-term climate change risks posed to critical ecosystems and the most vulnerable communities in the country.  As part of this package, a Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA) proposal and supporting documentation was to be prepared and submitted to the GCF. The development impact of the activities in rural communities in the target geographical regions of the CRA proposal was expected to enhance climate resilience, sustainable livelihoods and the food and nutrition security of vulnerable farming communities, while decreasing emissions and increasing sequestration of carbon in [...]